Mammoth Base Land Exchange

Land Exchange Process - Background

Mammoth Mountain Ski Area (MMSA) worked on a land exchange at the Main Lodge area (Mammoth Base Land Exchange) for over 10 years. In 2014 legislation was passed that allowed the land exchange to occur with the caveat that land outside the National Forest System boundary in Inyo or Mono counties could be used as exchange parcels and waiving the requirement that cash equalization not exceed 25 percent of the appraised value of the federal land. Upon approval of the legislation MMSA was able to move forward with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis that analyzed the environmental effects of the land exchange. 

Environmental Analysis - NEPA

The USFS was the lead agency for the environmental review. All information related to the USFS NEPA process is available on the USFS website here. Town staff provided a comment letter on the scoping process in 2016 (see letter here). The Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was published in August 2018.

Town of Mammoth Lakes Regulations

The exchange parcels are within the Town of Mammoth Lakes municipal boundary. Upon completion of the land exchange the properties were included within the Town's Urban Growth Boundary (UGB). A General Plan Amendment was not required to include the properties in the UGB as General Plan Policy L.6.E states National Forest lands that are exchanged into private ownership will be included within the UGB whether or not they are contiguous with the UGB. There will be General Plan/Zoning Code Amendments required to assign a land use/zoning designation to the property. This is anticipated to be completed through a specific plan process (see Mammoth Mountain Main Base redevelopment webpage here).

Contact 

If you have any questions about the project or would like more information, please contact Sandra Moberly, Community & Economic Development Director at (760) 965-3633.